


Tomorrow’s Dawn

by rosegoldnights



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Death Eaters, F/M, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Minor Spoilers, One-Shot, Sad Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27838018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldnights/pseuds/rosegoldnights
Summary: In the final hours before the event that will change both his and his girlfriend Estella’s lives indefinitely, Draco considers everything that could happen next. Angst takes its course.One-shot. Takes place during sixth year (Half-Blood Prince). Sort of spoilers.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/OC
Kudos: 3





	Tomorrow’s Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Estella is my OC. Draco and Estella have been tasked to kill Dumbledore together. Lightly inspired by the song Beating Heart by Ellie Goulding.

A few hours of certainty. That’s all they had left. 

The time could only be described as Merlin knows when - the strange period of time that was too late to be night, but still to early to be morning. The sounds of the Slytherin dorm they rested in were empty and repeated, an overlapping of soft snores from the unknowing other occupants of Estella’s dorm and the perpetual ticking on of a wayward clock on somebody’s bedside table. Above them, the Great Lake chundered away emitting occasional strange sounds, each one so familiar to every Slytherin inhabiting the dormitories, yet so unknown in origin. Moonlight filtered in through the lake depth windows, tinted a dull green colour by the rushing water. He tried to soak in the sounds, capture the feeling and store it somewhere in his mind. It might well be the last time he would ever lie in these dormitories again. The familiar nostalgia of it all might soon be a distant, comforting memory amidst the unknown. 

Feeling a sudden spark of nerves accompanying the memory of what was to come, Draco adjusted his hand, gently gripping Estella’s waist. He was almost fearful that’d she’d dissolve the moment he let go. Tangled together in body but each solitary in mind, they would have appeared like any other restless sixth-year couple at Hogwarts to an outsider looking in. Oh, how he wished they were still the people they’d been this time last year. 

Estella’s face was deceivingly calm as she slept lightly, eyelids gently shut and chest rising rhythmically. Draco watched her, thankful that for now, as she slept in his arms she was safe and content. Things had changed between them this year. Everything had changed in truth. Most days, Estella had said, she felt more like a ghost than a living person. All the sneaking around, missing meals, feeling older, reflecting on their mistakes they’d made had Draco agreeing. They were just two ghosts of people past.

Draco’s mind turned to the events of the upcoming day. He knew that as soon as the pale sunlight began to shine through the cracks in the mountains, their lives would change forever. It was no small feat, murdering your headmaster. Draco let out an almost silent snigger as the thought ran through his head. How absurd it all was. If it weren’t so dangerous and he wasn’t so dependent on it to keep him, his family and Estella alive, maybe he’d have rebelled against it. For honour to the Malfoy name, and glory to the Dark Lord he was expected to adore, he had to follow the orders he was given. 

Estella let out a small noise, shifting her weight slightly before sinking back into oblivion. Draco moved his index finger slightly, tracing a circle on the satin material of her pyjama shirt. He tried not to think of the danger she was being led into tomorrow. She could hold her own no doubt, but these were dark games they were playing, and nobody was every truly safe when they were dealing with the Dark Lord. Suppose the plan fell through and things went horribly wrong- he couldn’t guarantee her safety, couldn’t be sure she’d walk out the other side untouched- or even walk out at all. 

He just wanted her to be safe, to ensure he’d be able to hear her laugh and smile again one day. Currently life was an endless stream of delusional grandeur and silent agony, but she was his guiding force, his light through the dark tunnel. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, Draco turned to every power he could think of- every exterior force who could give him assistance- asking that once the sun rose, she would be protected. Keeping her safe and alive was all Draco could ever want. A future together was all he needed. He tried not to think about what was coming, the harm that he couldn’t prevent no matter how tightly he held her. 

With a broken sigh, he considered the task again. It had already taken a toll on their relationship, and they hadn’t even carried it out yet. Would it be worse once they’d seen the life leave the body? Would she still kiss his lips, despite them having spoken the deadly words that had brought the old man’s end? Would she be able to look at him the same once the monstrosity of what they’d just done hit her? Would she collapse into his arms? Or would she leave wordlessly, never to speak to him again? Could you love a man who had committed a murder? Would they ever feel absolved of the guilt that came with the robbery of a soul? He couldn’t imagine you could. It was all unknown territory to Draco. 

He readjusted again, unable to lie completely still. He just wanted to be close to her. Her skin was intoxicatingly warm, like fresh sunlight on the eve of winter, or the calm before the storm. Morning sun before the rain began. Morning. He pushed the reminder away. Savour the present. They might not have forever, but they did have this moment. Right now, he loved her and she loved him. Nobody could take that away from them, no matter the fates that would befall them come dawn.


End file.
